Westchester County’s new leader says he will lay off hundreds of employees if necessary to avoid raising property taxes. County Executive Robert Astorino says he inherited a projected $166 million deficit for 2011. At a news conference Tuesday, Astorino said closing that gap with property taxes would mean a 30 percent increase for Westchester homeowners, [...]
New York Republican Rick Lazio’s lackluster gubernatorial campaign has propelled some members of his own party to court a Democrat to switch sides and lead the charge against likely Democratic nominee Andrew Cuomo this fall. Top Republican officials are scheduled to meet Tuesday with Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy in Albany, signaling a lack of [...]
New York Gov. David Paterson is pressing a state spending cap on a reluctant Legislature and pushing back against his lieutenant governor’s reported plan to borrow billions over several years to escape a fiscal crisis. Paterson says Tuesday that spending is the state’s top problem and it must be curbed or capped before resorting to [...]
Representative Eric J. Massa, a freshman Democrat from upstate New York who faces an investigation after being accused of harassing a male aide, said Friday that he would resign next week. Mr. Massa was reported to the House ethics committee last month after a member of his Congressional staff accused him of harassment, according to [...]
A gathering of city safety workers endorsed Queens Assemblyman Jose Peralta for state senator on Friday. Union officials representing firefighters, emergency medical services and emergency medical technicians gathered in Corona to support Peralta, who is running for Hiram Monserrate’s former 13th District State Senate seat. “Peralta has been an advocate of keeping fire houses open [...]
New York Gov. David Paterson is vowing to serve out his term, in spite of growing calls for him to resign amid two scandals. Speaking at a Brooklyn church on Sunday, Paterson said he was determined to run the state through the end of the year. He told congregants at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn [...]
Former New York Mayor Edward Koch is putting together a coalition of powerful civic groups to address the state government’s gridlock. Koch says the coalition will take aim at legislators standing in the way of change. The state is mired in partisan bickering. There have been calls for scandal-plagued Gov. David Paterson to resign. Koch [...]
A city councilman surrendered Tuesday to face federal charges that he tried to cheat the city of at least $2.5 million in council discretionary funds, funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to his girlfriend and relatives and charging the city $177 for a bagel sandwich. The charges were contained in a Manhattan indictment against Councilman [...]
Former Democratic City Councilman David Weprin kept a family tradition alive Tuesday night by winning a special election for the State Assembly. Weprin easily beat his Republican opponent, Bob Friedrich. The seat in the 24th Assembly District, which comprises part of Queens, has been held by both his father and brother. In recent days, the [...]
Queens senator Hiram Monserrate was formally expelled Tuesday from the State Senate following a 53-8 vote. The resolution takes effect immediately. Sources say there were two resolutions being considered by state senators as they met behind closed doors Tuesday night. One called for an immediate expulsion, the other would have delayed it until June. Monserrate [...]
